There must be something in the water — or rather the ice — in Canton.
Entering the weekend, just one public school could lay claim to undefeated boys and girls hockey squads. As defending Division 2 champions, the Bulldog boys may hold bragging rights between the programs as a 6-0-2 start pushed their state-best unbeaten streak to 34, but it was the girls that had the better mark through the first eight games at 7-0-1.
Boys coach Brian Shuman and girls coach Dennis Aldrich each immediately pointed to one primary ingredient in the success of the teams — a thriving Canton Youth Hockey program spearheaded by CYH President Nick Maffeo developing promising players and the ability to keep them in house. In this case, the Canton Icehouse, home of both Bulldog squads.
“They realize that they can get a good experience and positive experience playing in town, and as a youth hockey coach in town it’s great to watch these kids grow up the last 15 years and going from the youth hockey program to playing for the high school,” said Shuman.
The girls might lack the hardware, but there is no doubt they have been one of the top programs in Div. 2 the past several years. In fact, the Bulldogs have been eliminated by the eventual state champions in each of the previous three seasons, and are one of just three teams to appear in the Div. 2 final over the past four, along with Wellesley and Notre Dame Academy.
Still, Aldrich did not quite expect to get out of the gate like this, especially with the scoring punch lost to graduation and relying on so many young players in big roles.
“I thought we had enough talent. What I was unsure of was who was going to take the lead,” said Aldrich. “You lose some firepower, and even though people have the skill, when you are used to watching it’s a tough habit to break. This has been a really good group as far as our system. We know we are a blue-collar team and we need to play within our system and this is a great group for our makeup.”
The Bulldogs are as deep as they have been under Aldrich, particularly on the blue line, where he can send out five defensemen he feels are all-star caliber in senior captains Meg Aldrich and Alexa Maffeo, sophomore Allie McCabe and freshmen Olivia Maffeo and Maya Battista.
Being blessed with a defensive corps of that quality has been a huge benefit to the Bulldogs’ freshman goaltender Carolyn Durand, who has shined in her debut, with as many shutouts as goals allowed this year at five each.
“She was scared to death her very first game,” joked Aldrich of Durand. “But having five experienced, talented defensemen in front of you taking care of your crease area, I think she has settled in and now she has a bounce in her step.”
The trio of juniors Maria Femia and Lizzie Tassinari and sophomore Tess Khoury occupy the top line, but Canton regularly rolls out three lines, with a fourth unit not far behind, according to Aldrich. The team’s leading scorer comes from the defensive ranks, however, as the younger Maffeo has given the attack a different dimension striking for nine goals already this season.
“She is the total package,” said Aldrich of Olivia. “If you give her a little bit of room, you are going to be in trouble because she is going to take advantage of it. That’s certainly is a nice look for us, and as a coach, to have a kid like that I love to be able to just open the door and let her go.”
With Herald Dream Teamer Ryan Nolte among those departed through graduation, the boys have been led by the senior duo of Johnny Hagan and Chris Lavoie. Hagan paces the team in scoring with 13 points, while Lavoie was off to a blistering beginning with 10 goals in the first five games before being sidelined by a shoulder injury.
The pair was responsible for two goals in the final 1:11 to improbably keep the unbeaten streak alive in a 3-3 tie against Duxbury. The Dragons are the type of top-tier Division 1 team that was not on Bulldogs’ nonleague schedule last winter that was judged too weak for serious Super 8 consideration.
“Every year I send out emails to Catholic Conference teams and other Division 1 teams,” said Canton coach Brian Shuman. “I understand that teams in Division 1 don’t want to plays us, but we don’t really focus on division numbers, we just want to play the best possible teams we can and every year we put together the strongest schedule that we possibly can, so we were happy that Duxbury and other Division 1 teams like Braintree want to play us this year.”
Four-checking
Four thoughts and nuggets from the high school hockey scene…
— In case you were wondering, there is one other MIAA school that headed into the weekend with both of its squads unbeaten — St. Mary’s. The Spartans boys got out to a 7-0-1 start in their quest to return to the Super 8, while the girls stood at 4-0-2 through their first six and appear to be a legit contender for the Division 1 crown.
— If I were a Division 3 North boys team, I don’t think I would be thrilled to have Lowell, Newton South and Cambridge in my bracket. What do they have in common? Monster enrollments of over 850 boys. Lowell and Newton South met in the final last year and Cambridge entered the weekend unbeaten.
— The inaugural Middlesex League vs. Catholic Central League Showcase, which was held Dec. 30 at the Essex Sports Center in Middleton and featured seven contests pitting girls teams from each league against each other, looked like a cool event. Not only was there outstanding hockey — Middlesex came away with a 4-2-1 advantage for the day — but nearly $2,500 was raised for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.
— After a jumbled mess of a first few weeks, here is one man’s stab at the Super 8 field (through Thursday’s action): 1. BC High; 2. Catholic Memorial; 3. St. Mary’s; 4. St. John’s Prep; 5. Framingham; 6. Xaverian; 7. Central Catholic; 8. Hingham; 9. Austin Prep; 10. Arlington.
Suggestions or feedback for the high school hockey notebook? Contact Tom Fargo at tfargojr@gmail.com or on Twitter at @tom_fargo
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